Scoilnet Blogs

Scoilnet webhosting & blogging service is to enable schools to establish an online presence providing both a website hosting and a blogging service for Primary and Post Primary schools. Schools can use webpages or use WordPress platform to create content that is hosted on the Scoilnet domain. The Scoilnet blogging service allows schools to easily develop a school website or school blog and host it for free. The blogging service supports different types of content, including text, images, audio, including podcasts and video clips.
This blog will give you an introduction to what Scoilnet Webhosting & Blogging can do and help to direct you to further information to help you to get up and running.

During the current cold snap, Schools are using their Scoilnet Blogs to let parents and students know about school closures over the next few days.

Mercy Wexford

Scoil Damien

CBS Mitchelstown

St Attracta’s

Ransboro National School

Some schools have made contact to enquire how to get more visitors to their Scoilnet blog.

Mark  Warner’s website www.ideastoinspire.co.uk has a presentation called  FOURTEEN Interesting Waysto Encourage Pupils and their Families to visit your School Blog which is worth looking at.

You can find the the advice at http://www.ideastoinspire.co.uk/encouragingpupilstovisitschoolblog.htm

At present, there are a series of training courses running in your local Education  Centre.

There are three courses that have a Scoilnet Blogging element.

CREATING YOUR SCHOOL’S WEBSITE USING SCOINET BLOGS

WEB 2.0

TFC AGUS AN GHAEILGE

Check with your local Education Centre for further details

I have included a quick introduction to the different plugins available within Scoilnet WordPress.

Just click on the Resources page at the top of the blog.

Scoilnet Webhosting & Blogging Service is currently in “Beta” (Trial) phase. A number of schools have received their accounts and are currently trying out the different features in WordPress. We will feature some of these schools in the near future.
The numbers of Irish schools blogging are increasing as well a number of teachers and students with their own personal blogs.
Scoilnet has a list of all schools that we are aware of that are blogging.
If your school is blogging and not on the list, let Scoilnet know.

One of the Keynote talks and sessions at the Tipp Inst is on E-Safety & Cyberbullying by Josie Fraser.

It might be a good time to have another look at the  Watch Your Space Cyberbullying video that was aired on TV in the past few months.

http://www.watchyourspace.ie/

Web-hosting is a service provided to schools by NCTE as part of the Schools Broadband programme.  A school using software titles such as Dreamweaver, WebsiteX5, Expression Web, can create html webpages that can then be uploaded onto the Scoilnet domain using a tool call WebDav. The URL will take the form of http://schoolname.scoilnet.ie.  It is a free, high-quality web-hosting service for schools which is also easy to use.

More detailed information can be found on the Support wiki at http://support.scoilnet.ie/wiki/WebHosting

Blogging is a term that comes from the term, web log which originally was a form of an online journal. A blog has evolved to a very popular form of user created web presence.  Blogging is the action of writing to an online journal or space (blog). Blogging has become very popular within education as schools and teachers have used it to create their website and to support their learning and teaching in recent years.
More on using blogging in the classroom can be found on the Blogging NCTE Advice Sheet

http://www.ncte.ie/documents/advicesheets/35BlogsNov08.pdf and more information using the blogging platform can be found on the Support wiki http://support.scoilnet.ie/wiki/Blogs
The NCTE have selected WordPress Multi User platform which is a state-of-the-art publishing platform with a focus on aesthetics, web standards, and usability to enable schools to create their own school blogs.
More detailed information on the WordPress platform can be found on at http://wordpress.org/about

This is the first post on this blog. This blog will help schools with getting started on Scoilnet blogs